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Police search for missing Astoria man with alzheimers and schizophrenia

By Bill Parry

The NYPD was still searching for a 63-year-old Astoria man with early onset dementia who has been missing since Feb.12.

When he was last seen, Philip Arabadjis was not wearing shoes or a jacket.

A $10,000 reward has been posted, by his family, for any information that helps the search for Arabadjis who has a medical history that includes schizophrenia and diabetes. He has no identification nor does he know his own name or where he lives.

Friends and family will gather in the theater at the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, at 21-12 30th Road in Long Island City, Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Information will be exchanged and search parties will fan out across Astoria and Long Island City

“There are hundreds of people looking for him,” his daughter Heather said. “The word is making the rounds on social media so hopefully that will help. There was one sighting in Hoboken, N. J. so I let the 114th Precinct know about it but other than that there’s nothing really concrete.”

Arabadjis was last seen near his home on 20th Avenue and 20th Street in Astoria when a security camera at his apartment building captured him walking down the street shoeless. Family members have set up a search base at the Neptune Diner, at 31-05 Astoria Blvd., near where he disappeared. Heather Arabadjis and some friends and family are planning a search party for Saturday.

Arabadjis is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 290 pounds with brown and gray hair and brown eyes.

Arabadjis was wearing a blue flannel shirt and black sweatpants when he was last seen. He enjoys walking in Astoria Park and may be unresponsive to questions or look very lost.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at the 114th Precinct at 718-626-9335 with Case # 2015-349 or Complaint Report #2015-114-01280.

“The nights are the worst when I’m lying in bed thinking of my father out there,” Heather said. “I’m just hoping he’s somewhere indoors where it’s warm.”

A Facebook page called Findmyfatherphil has been set up to exchange information. A shuttle will run between the N and Q 30th Avenue subway station and the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens on Saturday.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.